Rise
by toothlessgolfer
Summary: A young man awakens from sleep to find his world changed forever. Despite now missing a limb, he finds the strength within himself to endure his injury, to rise from the ashes, and to dedicate himself to a life of service to others by making the world a better place. Brief two-shot.
1. Rise

_**Author's Note – This short two-shot is an idea that I have had bouncing around in my head for a while. I wanted this to be a celebration of lifting oneself from the aftermath of a dark situation. To rise from the ashes of a broken life and find purpose again.**_

* * *

Rise

* * *

Swirling, terrifying nightmares were all the youth knew.

Dream of falling and fire all around him.

A loud scream and growl that pierced his soul.

 _No... no..._

Pain. So much pain.

 _Are you one of us, son?_

Darkness.

A large swarm of... dragons.

Those eyes that had narrowed on him with malice.

Sleeping off the pain.

The screaming echoing in his thoughts.

* * *

Pain was the first thing he noticed when he finally awoke. Pain that almost drove tears from his eyes. But he gritted his teeth and focused on breathing.

He was in his own bed in his house. Someone must have carried him there after finding him. Where had he been before?

 _Falling to the ground..._

 _Fires around him..._

 _Someone catching him..._

There was a whine from next to him. Then something licked his face. He opened his eyes and looked around his house.

"Ugh, hey bud..."

Then he wiped his face and slowly pulled off the covers. That was when he realized the painful truth. And he stared in horror as his life shattered around him when he stared at his stump.

Gone. Lost. Bitten off?

The memories started to come back to him. A dragon diving at him. All the fighting. Old memories of raids and those carried off in the night.

"Oh gods..."

He swung himself out of bed and warily took his footing after so long in bed. His best friend padded up to his side as he steadied himself against the bedframe.

"Thanks bud..."

Then he set his sights on the door and started walking, his faithful best friend at his side for comfort.

He rested a hand on the door, fearing what he would see once he opened it. What was the world that awaited him outside?

Then he pushed open the door and saw everything outside. He immediately slammed the door and turned away from it.

"No, I do not... believe it..."

But he knew that was a lie. He shut his eyes tightly and steadied himself as he caught his breath. As everything that he knew about the world changed around him.

"Oh gods... now what?"

The terrible truth threatened to burst through the wall that his young mind had flung up to protect itself. The fire and falling. Being grabbed and carried. The flashes of pain as his stump was treated to stop the bleeding. Howling as the heated blade burned him unconscious and his rescuers gave him the painfully necessary care.

His best friend at his side whined softly.

"I'll be... ok bud... I'll find a way..."

He closed his eyes and remembered seeing it all up in the sky. Dragons of all colors spinning in flight. The fear that had been there once and had gradually been replaced by wonder and hope as he learned more about them.

And now...

He wiped his teary eyes on a sleeve and slowly returned to bed. It was not yet time for him to go forth. He could not face everyone after what had happened.

But there was something growing in his heart. A strength and defiance that he did not know he had within himself before.

 _Not now, tonight though..._

He lay down in bed, still being quite overcome with weariness. It was also hard to do because of his missing limb.

Sleep did not come to him as he sobbed. They were defiant tears.

* * *

He walked with purpose through the trees, all alone at night after leaving his best friend back at home. There was somewhere he had to go and something he had to do, painful though it would be. But pain was not foreign to him now. He only stopped to check the bandages on his stump. There was still a bit of blood, but not nearly as much as there had been before. It was also a bit cold now, being that it was late at night, so he kept his cloak wrapped around him as much as possible as he stumbled on.

Two different voices in his head. Two different paths he could take. But there was only one path he could take that would bring him peace now, knowing how much the world had changed.

Then he finally arrived at the hidden place. A secret little grove where something was likely hidden. Something that he had to meet now.

The stars wheeled overhead as he slowly strode out into the grove, leaning heavily to the side as he went. Missing a limb seemed to do that to someone.

 _There you are..._

The dragon awoke at his approach. Its wide eyes fixed on him as it jumped to his feet. Then it rumbled in recognition, exactly as it had for months now.

"Where have you been?"

He stumbled toward the dragon, distantly noting that it was very tired also. That made perfect sense considering what had been happening in the recent past.

"I know what happened," he sighed.

The dragon tilted its head to the side as he stepped up before it. Then he pulled a hand out of his pocket and slowly lifted his hand to the dragon's neck. It rumbled softly at his touch and bent down in pleasure.

"You were flying."

Purr.

"None of this would have happened without you."

He sighed softly.

"I guess I should thank you. You gave me purpose in my life again."

The dragon trilled softly at his familiar touch.

"I will rise."

The dragon never saw the dagger that he drove into its neck.

It was as he stared down at the dying dragon on the ground that he clearly remembered all the pain in one eternal moment that tore his soul to pieces. The dragons diving from the sky and snatching up animals and people alike. Seeing a Monstrous Nightmare grab his older sister and carry her off into the night. Seeing his own father burned alive after hacking at the dragon that had bitten off his son's arm. His own arm. Now being the last living member of his family. His village had mostly burned to the ground.

Monsters. That is what dragons were. Not the wonderous, soaring, and majestic creatures he had thought they were. Not the dragon he had found in secret and given fish so that he could tame it. Even this one had participated in the raid. And now it was dead at his own hand. Even under this strange circumstance he was now a dragon killer. He had done what so few youths had ever done. He had done what many adults could not boast of.

He retrieved his dagger, pulling it out from the dragon's neck. He felt nothing about the deed. The dragon had betrayed him by being a monster. Killing a monster was not betrayal.

The grin broke out on his face as he forgot the pain and lost himself in the moment. He had been left with nothing, and in that nothing he still found purpose. The dying embers of his soul had sparked to life again in defiance of the world that had tried to break him. Suffering had been redemptive to him and had purified him of weakness.

Then he looked up at the dark skies and imagined all the sets of terrifying wings in the above.

"I am not afraid of you. I will rise above the fear of dragons, and I will free the people of the world."

He stared at his bloody dagger and his one remaining hand. His fist was covered in the dragon's blood.

The name came forth from the fire in his heart. The fire that had sparked to life at the memory of his dead family, lost arm, and burned village.

"I am Drago Blood-Fist."


	2. Ally

_**Author's Note - In which our dedicated protagonist, having found his purpose in life and dedicated himself to his art for decades, finds an ally in the most unlikely of places.**_

* * *

Ally

* * *

Drago Blood-Fist, staff in hand, stared at the sight within the remote nest in awe and horror.

It had seemed a good idea at first. Use the trapped dragon to lead the hunters to a nest. Nearly a hundred of his best men had volunteered to go with him on this dangerous venture to purify the island.

The massive nest of ice did not seem very filled with dragons from the outside, but there were enough of them to make this mission worth the while. The traps were prepared and set. Shields were ready and spears were in hand. Twenty years of experience hunting dragons were behind him by now. Everything had been anticipated.

Everything except the presence of a Titanic tusked dragon larger than two Great Halls stacked end to end. It was a colossal dragon with grey scales, and the type of which he had only heard whispers of among terrified seamen with horrified tales of such leviathans. Its massive, piercing blue eyes stared directly at him and seemed to gaze directly through his soul.

His men were among the bravest men in all the isles, and they had come to this island with only one purpose in mind. Dying bravely in battle against monsters was not an objection to them.

They raised their spears and cried aloud a battle cry, ready to charge at the dragons nearby.

But he understood. This Titan was an Alpha and would not allow any harm to its nest. To stay here and do violence would be the death of any humans on this island, and he preferred to live.

"STOP!"

All his men froze in place and lowered their weapons, still staying wary of the dragons around them but not willing to disobey his command.

A very deep rumbling growl echoed in the massive chamber as the Titan slowly walked toward them. Every one of its steps shook the ground underfoot. But its deep and piercing eyes were narrowed on him in an expression he had never seen before from a dragon. It looked at him not as prey but as a curiosity.

Nearly a dozen of the nearby dragons roared on their own and charged, their maws filled with glowing fire. Ready to attack and drive off those who had entered the nest.

All the men behind him quivered and quailed, barely able to stay on their feet as several dragons approached on the ground.

Drago remained defiant as he stared back into those massive blue eyes.

Then something impossible happened.

The Titan growled, and all the dragons that had been on the ground and in the air froze or turned away. Peace came over the frozen nest.

And he understood why.

"You control them, don't you?"

The blue eyes blinked.

"You could have let them kill me. So why didn't you?"

Then he had a crazy idea.

"Ivarr, go get the Nadder right now!"

Ivarr left with several other handlers and slowly exited the nest. Drago remained where he was, doing nothing but staring into those blue eyes.

Could he see something in those eyes? Something he had never thought he would see in a dragon's eyes?

This Alpha could control dragons and use them for its own purposes. That was not so different from how he and other leaders could control soldiers and normal people. Just tell them that they are fighting for a great and honorable purpose that is expected of them. That it is not truly their choice. Their only place is to obey those who know better.

Then Ivarr returned leading a Nadder by a leash.

"FREE IT!" Drago roared.

Ivarr and company did not question his command. They unlatched the captive Nadder, removed the leash, and stepped back from it.

The Titan narrowed its eyes on the Nadder, and Drago watched as the Nadder stiffened, its eyes turning to slits. Then the Nadder jumped and flew off to join the nest.

There was something new in the Alpha's eyes now. Understanding and respect. Usefulness and purpose.

"Boss, now what?"

He ignored the question and stepped toward the Alpha as it did the same to him. He craned his neck up to keep its gaze as it bent down toward him. Its massive breaths rustled his hair and disturbed the ground where he stood. The massive tusks hung in the air around him.

Something felt very important about this moment. This was a moment that would change his life and would change the world.

The staff in his hand fell to the ground as he stared into the Titan's eyes.

It was as if he were looking into a mirror. He looked into its eyes, and he saw himself. Control and purpose.

His one hand lifted up into the air before him.

What would the Alpha do? It knew the offer well enough, that much was certain.

A moment of total silence passed in the nest.

Then its great tusk, longer than most longboats, shifted very slightly and gently brushed up against his extended hand.

Drago grinned and gave a quite draconic growl, understanding well the bargain he had just struck.

"You need dragons to conquer other dragons," he chuckled.

The Alpha's whispers were heard clearly enough as it touched his hand with its tusk and as he stared into its soul. Its purpose was to be great, to win battles, and to control other dragons. But its flock was too small.

His own purpose was to free the world from the fear of dragons. Maybe he had not understood that purpose all along. Maybe killing them all was not necessary.

Dragons that were controlled were tame and obedient. He could bring the Alpha more dragons for its flock, and it could fight battles that he and any human army could not fight.

This forbidden friendship would certainly benefit them both and let them rise to new, glorious heights together.


End file.
